Aren't Bettas aggressive fish?
And I've read a lot of different things in the nitrogen cycle yet they all vary in ways. Does anyone have an article that is stupid simple that a beginner would understand without to much complication they could link me to?
A betta is a game of chance in the end. All bettas are different. Sometimes it works sometimes not.
The nitrogen cycle can be said really simply let me give it a try. I talk to first time fish owners all the time and have to explain this.
http://i.imgur.com/UgHY8FK.jpg
Refer to this picture for guidance
Let's get this down first. FISH POOP! It's a necessary part of life.
Well in nature this poop has to decompose. It decomposes into what is known as Ammonia or NH3 for short. Ammonia is toxic to fish!
This is where cycling comes in. The goal of cycling is to build up bacteria in your filter that will "remove" or "eat" all the waste and when the bacteria is finished the waste is in a non toxic form(in low levels) that you remove when you change water.
Okay so we have a pile of fish crap rotting into ammonia now what? Well for a fish-in cycle take a guess what out ammonia source to feed the bacteria is? FISH! In a fishless cycle, ammonia is supplemented. This can be done by ammonia from the hardware store(10% grade) or just plain ole fish food though it's messy.
Now, you will need a test kit! Why? So you can test these ammonia levels. You want to shoot for 3ppm in a fishless cycle. This is a great number for bacteria growth. during a fish-in cycle, you have fish so we don't want this number to exceed 1ppm for their safety.
As the bacteria grows, you will start to see nitrite showing on your test kit. Nitrite is the next phase that your fish poo takes. It is more toxic that ammonia so in a fish in cycle you want to keep it under 0.50ppm if possible. During fishless, nitrite will go off the chart and it's okay because you have no fish in the tank.
This is probably the longest part of cycling. Keep dosing your ammonia to 3ppm for fishless. Fish in just keep monitoring and keeping levels safe for fish. One day you will wake up and all the nitrites will be gone! No kidding!
When nitrites have hit 0ppm, ammonia is 0ppm, and you have a nitrate reading(in a fishless this will be very high), then your tank is cycled. do a large water change to get nitrate levels in safe range and you are good to go.
Caleb
